Swelling-Induced Optical Anisotropy of Thermoresponsive Hydrogels Based on Poly(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylate): Deswelling Kinetics Probed by Quantitative Mueller Matrix Polarimetry

Nitric Oxide Releasing Delivery Platforms: Design, Detection, Biomedical Applications, and Future Possibilities

Gasotransmitters belong to the subfamily of endogenous gaseous signaling molecules, which find a wide range of biomedical applications. Among the various gasotransmitters, nitric oxide (NO) has an enormous effect on the cardiovascular system. Apart from this, NO showed a pivotal role in neurological, respiratory, and immunological systems. Moreover, the paradoxical concentration-dependent activities make this gaseous signaling molecule more interesting. The gaseous NO has negligible stability in physiological conditions (37 °C, pH 7.4), which restricts their potential therapeutic applications. To overcome this issue, various NO delivering carriers were reported so far. Unfortunately, most of these NO donors have low stability, short half-life, or low NO payload. Herein, we review the synthesis of NO delivering motifs, development of macromolecular NO donors, their advantages/disadvantages, and biological applications. Various NO detection analytical techniques are discussed briefly, and finally, a viewpoint about the design of polymeric NO donors with improved physicochemical characteristics is predicted.

Volume phase transition kinetics of smart N-n-propylacrylamide microgels studied by time-resolved pressure jump small angle neutron scattering

The use of smart colloidal microgels for advanced applications critically depends on their response kinetics. We use pressure jump small angle neutron scattering with supreme time resolution to study the rapid volume phase transition kinetics of such microgels. Utilizing the pressure induced microphase separation inside the microgels we were able to resolve their collapse and swelling kinetics. While the collapse occurs on a time scale of 10 ms, the particle swelling turned out to be much faster. Photon correlation spectroscopy and static small angle neutron scattering unambiguously show, that the much slower collapse can be associated with the complex particle architecture exhibiting a loosely-crosslinked outer region and a denser inner core region. These insights into the kinetics of stimuli-responsive materials are of high relevance for their applications as nano-actuators, sensors or drug carriers. Moreover, the used refined pressure jump small angle neutron scattering technique is of broad interest for soft matter studies.

Recent advances in clay mineral-containing nanocomposite hydrogels

Clay mineral-containing nanocomposite hydrogels have been proven to have exceptional composition, properties, and applications, and consequently have attracted a significant amount of research effort over the past few years. The objective of this paper is to summarize and evaluate scientific advances in clay mineral-containing nanocomposite hydrogels in terms of their specific preparation, formation mechanisms, properties, and applications, and to identify the prevailing challenges and future directions in the field. The state-of-the-art of existing technologies and insights into the exfoliation of layered clay minerals, in particular montmorillonite and LAPONITE®, are discussed first. The formation and structural characteristics of polymer/clay nanocomposite hydrogels made from in situ free radical polymerization, supramolecular assembly, and freezing-thawing cycles are then examined. Studies indicate that additional hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions, coordination bonds, hydrophobic interaction, and even covalent bonds could occur between the clay mineral nanoplatelets and polymer chains, thereby leading to the formation of unique three-dimensional networks. Accordingly, the hydrogels exhibit exceptional optical and mechanical properties, swelling-deswelling behavior, and stimuli-responsiveness, reflecting the remarkable effects of clay minerals. With the pivotal roles of clay minerals in clay mineral-containing nanocomposite hydrogels, the nanocomposite hydrogels possess great potential as superabsorbents, drug vehicles, tissue scaffolds, wound dressing, and biosensors. Future studies should lay emphasis on the formation mechanisms with in-depth insights into interfacial interactions, the tactical functionalization of clay minerals and polymers for desired properties, and expanding of their applications.

POSS-induced enhancement of mechanical strength in RAFT-made thermoresponsive hydrogels

In this study, covalently cross-linked thermoresponsive hydrogels were prepared with higher mechanical stability by the introduction of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) moieties.

Remarkable swelling capability of amino acid based cross-linked polymer networks in organic and aqueous medium

This work reports design and synthesis of side chain amino acid based cross-linked polymeric gels, able to switch over from organogel to hydrogel by a simple deprotection reaction and showing superabsorbancy in water. Amino acid based methacrylate monomers, tert-butoxycarbonyl (Boc)-l/d-alanine methacryloyloxyethyl ester (Boc-l/d-Ala-HEMA), have been polymerized in the presence of a cross-linker via conventional free radical polymerization (FRP) and the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) technique for the synthesis of cross-linked polymer gels. The swelling behaviors of these organogels are investigated in organic solvents, and they behave as superabsorbent materials for organic solvents such as dichloromethane, acetone, tetrahydrofuran, etc. Swollen cross-linked polymer gels release the absorbed organic solvent rapidly. After Boc group deprotection from the pendant alanine moiety, the organogels transform to the hydrogels due to the formation of side chain ammonium (-NH3(+)) groups, and these hydrogels showed a significantly high swelling ratio (∼560 times than their dry volumes) in water. The morphology of organogels and hydrogels is studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Amino acid based cross-linked gels could find applications as absorbents for oil spilled on water as well as superabsorbent hydrogels.

Quantitative fluorescence and elastic scattering tissue polarimetry using an Eigenvalue calibrated spectroscopic Mueller matrix system

A novel spectroscopic Mueller matrix system has been developed and explored for both fluorescence and elastic scattering polarimetric measurements from biological tissues. The 4 × 4 Mueller matrix measurement strategy is based on sixteen spectrally resolved (λ = 400 - 800 nm) measurements performed by sequentially generating and analyzing four elliptical polarization states. Eigenvalue calibration of the system ensured high accuracy of Mueller matrix measurement over a broad wavelength range, either for forward or backscattering geometry. The system was explored for quantitative fluorescence and elastic scattering spectroscopic polarimetric studies on normal and precancerous tissue sections from human uterine cervix. The fluorescence spectroscopic Mueller matrices yielded an interesting diattenuation parameter, exhibiting differences between normal and precancerous tissues.